To buy any of these photographs, or any pictures from the Southport Visiter visit our photosales site by clicking here. WHEN my editor told me I was going to the top of the obelisk on Lord Street, I was a little apprehensive. The 67ft 6ins structure seemed daunting, and all that scaffolding looked hard to negotiate. But I donned my hard-hat and reflective gear and climbed the stairs to the top with the enthusiastic director of NSG Services, Nigel Sarath and Visiter photographer Gareth Jones. As Gareth took some wonderful shots of the views, I stood, nervously clinging to the nearest prop. But despite the wind there wasn’t even the slightest movement from the scaffolding. This was probably due to the massive 40 tonnes of concrete laid on the base of the scaffold, as well as the complex arrangement of bracers. The scaffolding was specifically designed to be free-standing and not moved by the elements during the eight week refurbishment. To meet this criteria NSG Services commissioned expert designers who came up with the complete design and expert directors who had to erect the scaffold to the exact design. Nigel Sarath, one of the directors from N.S.G. Services, said: "The scaffolding should be finished next Tuesday and then it will take about two weeks to take it down. "Last Friday was a real testament to the quality of the scaffolding when there were very bad winds. "I had a sleepless night, expecting a phone call saying Lord Street was full of debris, but thankfully nothing came down at all. "A team of six people have been working on the project throughout. "It’s been very, very hard work because a lot of the work was out of the norm and things have to be done in a particular way. "But it’s been rewarding and nice to work on something that isn’t just an ordinary job." From the top, we could see the Pennines still topped with snow, Cumbria and the Blackpool Tower and coastline. The white Portland stone obelisk was built in 1923 and unveiled by the Earl of Derby on Remembrance Day of that year. The monument is to the 1,133 Southport soldiers and sailors who died in World War One - well over 10 per cent of the volunteers in Southport. The obelisk will take eight weeks to finish as the blocks are restored and the edifice is fully cleaned. With the sky clear and blue, Visiter photographer Gareth was able to take photos of Southport, the distant landscape, and the work being done on the obelisk from a unique vantage point.
To buy any of these photographs, or any pictures from the Southport Visiter visit our photosales site by clicking here. | 
